We’ve written about it before in CIR; now The Wall Street Journal is reporting it too. EBay is hoping to buy more classified sites to add to its Kijiji roster, which includes Kijiji, Marktplaats.nl in the Netherlands, Mobile.de, Loquo in Spain.

In 2004 and 2005, the company invested more than $1 billion in classified sites, including its purchase of about one quarter of the stock in Craigslist for an estimated $10 million to $12 million. (Now EBay and Craigslist are suing each other, but that’s another topic we’ve covered extensively.)

Jacob Aqraou, GM of classifieds for EBay, said the company wants to buy in either Eastern Europe or Scandinavia. The former makes sense; the latter will be tough, since several of those markets are dominated by Schibsted sites (Finn.no in Norway; Blocket.se in Sweden).

Expect announcements within a couple of weeks, unless Aqraou’s plan gets derailed by this week’s financial turmoil in the U.S.

Both EBay’s stock and reputation are depressed, especially among sellers who make up the key to its auction business, and it got hammered by Barron’s the other day: “Is there fresh trouble brewing at EBay? The company … faces a variety of headwinds.” After outlining EBay’s travails, Barron’s notes, “EBay shares are down approximately 30 percent this year, trading near their lowest level in five years.”
            Of course, valuations and share prices at other sites are also deep in the tank — so, as Aqraou points out, that may make it a good time to buy. Especially if there are bargains out there.

(You may have to be a subscriber to see either the Barron’s or Journal article.)